Muskogee, Oklahoma

After we left Oklahoma City we were heading to our current RV park in Arkansas. After driving east for an hour, we were about to pull into a little town for morning tea when we saw a sign that said National Shrine Infant Jesus of Prague. The history of the Miraculous Infant Jesus of Prague dates back more than four hundred years. I quickly checked on my iPhone and discovered that around 60,000 people visit this shrine every year, with many claiming miraculous healings and answer to prayers. So after our morning tea, we drove a few miles off our path to check out this shrine and say a prayer for our families. It was only a small shrine, so we were very surprised to see three first-class relics housed there: one of St Wenceslaus (who the Church is named after), one of the Holy Cross, and one of the Holy Manger. I am guessing that the special statue of the Infant Jesus of Prague is dressed in various coverings for different special events of the year, judging by the collection of outfits on display.

We thought this was the Shrine, until we got inside

Infant Jesus of Prague

Created lovingly and donated I am guessing

The three first class relics

From Prague, Oklahoma we could have taken a direct route to our campground in Arkansas, but we were interested to see the city of Muskogee, Oklahoma. So we took a 30 minute detour to get a first hand view of the city and see if we couldn't find an 'Okie from Muskogee' to chat with, from it's population of around 40,000 people.

Miss Annie's Tea Room looked old and deserted, but the 'Open' sign was illuminated, and it was lunchtime, so we parked the RV out the front and opened the door. What a pleasant surprise...the picture below is the first room you enter, and as it was deserted, I thought, uh oh, not a good sign. However, the waitress met us and took us through an archway to another larger room, and there were several tables with people eating in there. That was more reassuring. As it turns out, it was a fabulous place to eat. We had a good chat with our waitress who was born in Muskogee, and assured us that we were in fact talking to an 'Okie from Muskogee'. She went on to remind us that the country singer Carrie Underwood hailed from Muskogee, and that the song 'Okie From Muskogee' was in fact written about the nearby town of Checotah, but that the name didn't work well with the lyrics, so they used Muskogee instead. 

Miss Addie's Tea Room

The outside was deceiving

Yep, she's proud to be an Okie from Muskogee alright!